Wednesday, June 22, 2016

No one was injured in the incident that occurred around 7 a.m. Tuesday in the 4400 block of North Monitor Avenue between Sunnyside and Montrose avenues, said Officer Michelle Tannehill, a spokeswoman for the department.

The house where the cross was burned belongs to a 62-year-old white man, Tannehill said. The incident is being investigated as a case of simple assault, but could be classified as a hate crime depending on the outcome of the investigation, she added.

Ald. John Arena (45th) denounced the incident as a "grotesque and cowardly display of hatred and bigotry."

The crime occurred on a block where several residents are Arab American and African American, residents said.

The "horrible and disgusting incident is unacceptable and deserving of strong condemnation," Arena said.

"It is especially deplorable that his happened two blocks from Prussing Elementary School, a wonderful and welcoming school where many languages are spoken among its student body," Arena said.

The incident occurred just outside the 45th Ward in the 38th Ward represented by Ald. Nicholas Sposato, who said police told him they believe the cross was burned on the wrong lawn by mistake.

"I hope it was just knuckleheads or silly kids," Sposato said. "This is terrible."

About

Contact: southsideara (at) riseup.net

TORCH Points of Unity:

1. We disrupt fascist and far right organizing and activity.

2. We don’t rely on the cops or courts to do our work for us. This
doesn’t mean we never go to court, but the cops uphold white supremacy
and the status quo. They attack us and everyone who resists oppression.
We must rely on ourselves to protect ourselves and stop the fascists.

3. We oppose all forms of oppression and exploitation. We intend to do
the hard work necessary to build a broad, strong movement of oppressed
people centered on the working class against racism, sexism, nativism,
anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, and discrimination
against the disabled, the oldest, the youngest, and the most oppressed
people. We support abortion rights and reproductive freedom. We want a
classless, free society. We intend to win!

4. We hold ourselves accountable personally and collectively to live up to our ideals and values.

5. We not only support each other within the network, but we also
support people outside the network who we believe have similar aims or
principles. An attack against one is an attack against all.